Audi's Electric Vehicle Strategy Includes Four New Models Over Next Two Years

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The e-tron SUV marks Audi's first foray into the electric vehicle market.

Audi of America

The electric vehicle market is about to get a jolt from an unlikely source: luxury carmakers. Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, karma, Lucid, and more are all expected to release battery-powered vehicles over the next two years. All of these new models are aimed squarely at Tesla’s upscale Model X and its successor, the upcoming Model Y. Audi is the latest luxe car builder to join the tussle with its e-tron midsize SUV.

The "e-tron" badge is nothing new. We’ve seen it on a few of Audi’s plug-in hybrid offerings, as well as a couple of high-profile concepts. However, unlike past e-tron offerings, this mainstream looking sport-utility vehicle is a true electric—i.e., no internal combustion engine to boost range or add power when needed.

Motivation comes from two electric motors: one powers the rear wheels, providing primary propulsion; and one for the front wheels, which gives the car a hefty nudge when more power is necessary, or when driving conditions demand additional traction.

Audi estimates output at 355 horsepower and 414 pounds-feet of torque. It also has an “Overboost” function similar to Tesla’s “Ludicrous” mode. Overboost increases output to 402 horsepower and 490 pound-feet of torque for a duration of eight seconds. The boost allows the e-tron to rocket to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds—respectable speed for a midsize SUV—on the way to a top speed of 124 mph. In the floor between the motors is a 95-kWh battery pack that enables the vehicle to travel up to 248 miles on a single charge.

I recently had a chance to talk with Filip Brabec, vice president of product management for Audi of America, to discuss the e-tron and Audi’s future electrification strategy.

Audi's PB 18 e-tron can go from 0 to 60 mph in 2 seconds.

Audi of America

Audi has introduced a couple of spectacular electric vehicles recently. The new e-tron is impressive, and the PB 18 sport concept is simply fabulous. What is Audi’s overall electrification strategy going forward? How does the new e-tron fit into that strategy?

Brabec: First, the PB 18 was a show car that we put together for this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in Monterrey. It's more of an exercise, a dream about the future, providing a point of view on what enthusiasts of the future will be driving in the electric age. We're super pleased by the positive reception it has gotten. That's driving a lot of internal conversations about, you know, the reality of that car.

Does that mean it could be given the green light to build?

[Silence, laughter.]

No comment? Nice. Let’s get back to Audi’s EV strategy.

Yes. The e-tron is our first serious step into electrification. Audi’s first genuinely electric vehicle. However, our strategy here is the same as with our internal combustion cars: Make usable, every day, livable cars. And that’s what the e-tron is.

Sounds like you took a page out of Tesla’s playbook: Create a good car that happens to be electric.

Exactly! In the early days of EVs, I think many people like me sat in product planning rooms, wondering what the future looks like. The opinion at the time was to build a different car; something out there, futuristic. Over time, we've evolved that way of thinking. We now see that customers want nice-looking cars with great technology. They don’t want a far-out design.

Is that why you chose to release a more mainstream battery-powered SUV as your first EV?

We wanted to go in a segment that's largely populated. That’s why the e-tron is aimed at what we call the CSUV segment [editor’s note: that's the crossover segment], where the Q7 already competes with the BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz GLE, and Porsche Cayenne. It’s the second largest segment in the business. So, yes, the e-tron is decidedly mainstream, from a from a kind of a premium luxury point of view.

We also wanted to make sure the transition from internal combustion into electrification is as smooth as possible. One way to do that is to create a cool car but also familiar.

We will continue on this path for a little bit. We're going to do a derivative of the SUV—with a little bit more of a Sportback body-style—then we're going to step into the on-road car segment. We’ll be showing that at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. Then, we're going to get into another smaller SUV after that.

We will continue to go into populated segments and make sure that we have a proper alternative to offer to buyers. Not only intellectually, but also for people that are thinking about switching from internal combustion to electric. If you're going to shoot for volume and you're going to shoot for acceptance, then you need a mainstream product in a mainstream segment.

We’ve already started production of the e-tron in Brussels. And the vehicle will be on sale in the second quarter next year.

That’s many vehicles in a relatively short period, no? They only account for about 1 percent of the overall car market. Some analysts predict that will grow to 5 percent over the next two years. Is the demand for the EVs there to handle that number of offerings?

We see the demand for EVs growing a lot quicker. We estimate as much as 25 percent of our business being electric by 2025. Moreover, as you can imagine, that doesn't happen overnight. That's something that we have to evolve and have to have multiple offerings in the marketplace to be able to hit that kind of number. This is a lot more for us than just a car or two that delivers marginal value.

Typically, the Audi's signature single-frame grille is dark and foreboding. The e-tron's grille is metallic, less menacing, and more indicative of the vehicle's dynamic nature.

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The resemblance to the Q Series is undeniable. Was that a coincidence?

No, we wanted it to have a balance between old and new. For example, the grille is noticeably different but still familiar. Typically, the Audi grille is darker, more shaded. It has more of a performance-related look in this case, an air intake. It's what we call the single-frame grille. It’s a key identity point for Audi. For the e-tron, we've inverted the look, so it's lighter [in color], speaking to the dynamic nature of the vehicle.

As I said, we didn't want to go niche or out there because our clients don’t want that. So, we wanted the e-tron to be recognizable as an Audi. I think it’s a combination of trying to communicate something new, something high tech, something modern.

Virtual side-view cameras will replace side-view mirrors everywhere but the U.S. The system will use small exterior side cameras whose images are displayed on 7-inch OLED screens in the dash.

Audi of America

The interior is impeccable and high-tech, as we’d expect from an Audi. However, we especially love the mirror-less side mirrors. Is it true they will not be available stateside? Won’t regulators allow them?

[Laughing] Yes. However, our team is in regular contact with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and I would say that we are keeping an open mind to this. It's tough. Like everything in a particular regulatory environment, it just takes time. I wish that things would move quicker. Unfortunately, that's not the case. However, we want them, we're pushing for them, and there is some receptivity. However, I cannot say definitively when.

Also, why didn’t you choose not to equip the e-tron with your most advanced driver-assist technology, Traffic Jam Pilot?

We do have Traffic Jam Assist in the car. It is, in fact, the latest version that we have in the marketplace on like vehicles like the A8 that's coming out and the A6. It will have the ability to assist with acceleration breaking steering, but with the drivers still responsible at both low speed and the highway speeds. Plus, the e-tron will get a touch-sensitive steering wheel. So, we will know very precisely when your hands are on the steering wheel and when they aren’t. However, you are right; the Traffic Jam Pilot system is not. It is not coming on any U.S. cars at this time.

So, when will we be able to buy it and for how much?

Audi is currently accepting reservations for the e-tron and expects to begin shipping cars from its new manufacturing facility in Brussels in the second quarter of 2019. Price will start around $75,000.

The new e-tron SUV will be available next Spring at a whopping starting price of around $75,000.